DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR BLIND SPOTS ARE?

 When I was a young woman, a close friend and I would walk our neighborhood after we had dropped our children off at school. On one of our walks, my friend ask me the strangest question that kind of caught me off guard. She ask, if I thought there were any obvious blind spots in her life that she may not see in herself; but may be obvious to others and in doing so, had impacted what they may think about her in a negative way. WOW! No one had ever ask me that question before. I really struggled at first to be honest with her, because I knew that I probably had far too many blind spots myself, to try and council someone else of theirs. Plus, I knew that the scripture warned in Matt. 7:5 not to try and take the splinter out of someone’s else’s eye if there was a huge plank in their own. 

I would had never wanted to hurt her with any comments that I could have possibly contributed. After all,  I had loved her warm and considerate caring nature, and in no way did I want to nitpick her blind spots when I was struggling with a Kung Fu grip on my own. Little did I realize at first, that it was not my judgement that she was seeking, but truth from a friend that she felt she could trust. She was on a journey, seeking truth, change and personal revival. She needed a new vantage point and was willing to see her shortcomings as others might see them. Once she realized that the reward far outweighed the risk she was willing to act, but she also knew that she could not look where she could not see. 

Like my friend, I too had to learn that once I realized the rewards of being willing, they far outweigh the risk of being offended. Through the years I have learned even though I still struggle at times, that a blind spot is a performance hindering mindset or behavior of which we are unaware or have chosen to overlook. It’s virtually impossible to achieve change without first having clarity on where making changes will most help us.  All of us need to learn how to discover these blind spots. 

However, we cannot center our focus on something that we can not see, and we must be very willing to see them when they are pointed out to us. No matter how hard we try to be self-aware. Everyone including the best of folks, have unproductive behaviors that are invisible to them, but glaring to everyone else. Our behavioral blind spots can create unintended consequences for us. They distort our judgment, corrupt our decision-making, reduce our awareness of them, destroy relationships and sabotage our careers and ministry. 

A blind spot is a mindset that turns into a behavior of which we are unaware or have chosen to overlook. Every personality type has strengths and weaknesses. But when carried to the extreme or inflamed by stressful situations, even our core strengths can become a damaging weakness and we become our worst enemy. While it is, in our human nature to want to defend and win an argument, conflict becomes destructive when our good thinking turns negative and erodes our trust in anyone other than ourselves. Empathy and insights are tossed aside when we filter incoming information through the lens of what we believe and want; but may not always be fact and truth. When this happens, it becomes easy to categorize others as the enemy, who must be wrong. Instead of differences of opinions, conflict becomes a power struggle that prevents you from seeing any other solution other than winning your own point. 2 Cor. 10:12 warns us not to compare or measure ourselves by ourselves, because it is not wise and we lack wisdom and understanding if we do.

 Through the years I have learned that one of the greatest values that a good friend or mentors can have, is the ability to see ahead of what others cannot see and to help them navigate a course to a good destination. People can’t appreciate what they don’t know is there. There’s more than one lens in life and you just happen to possess one of the billions.

Hold Fast

-Bren

LITTLE FAITH TESTED AND TRIED

 We realize that as believers, we’re supposed to trust God with every aspect of life, but circumstances can cause us to waver. This is not a new problem! Every believer will be tested and tried in the area of their faith more than once. God is not caught off guard in this either and had a plan before you ever came to a believer’s faith in Christ for your salvation to help you find His way. He knew that life’s trials would serve to bring you grief and doubt and that your faith would be tested by them, yet He did not leave you helpless against them. You see, the great mystery as it often appears to be, is not that we lose all our faith, but that we fail to maintain our faith and walk in Christ through some awkward difficulty that we encounter and our faith becomes little, not lost. If you look closely in God’s Word, you will see five different times in the book of Matthew, where Jesus pointed out examples and symptoms of what He called “little faith.”

Some people had little faith brought on through their anxiety. In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus addressed people who were worried about their basic needs being met. He assured them of a divine provision, if God’s kingdom was their top priority. The difference between little faith and bigger faith, is only focus. They were wrongly focused by what their eyes and bellies were seeing and feeling. Many had little faith because of the fear of what their physical senses were telling them, not by the Word of God that Jesus was sharing with them.

When a storm arose in Matthew 8:23-27, the disciples were afraid, even though the God of the wind and sea was with them in the boat. Asleep, yes, but He was there. They were concerned, because Jesus appeared not to be concerned. Isn’t that ironic? We are like that as well. We can feel like God is not concerned with our situations when He is not responding to us like we are wanting Him to and even place blame on Him that we know that He could fix the problem but seems not to want to. But, Jesus had no fear or worries because He was the Truth, the Way, and the Life and they needed a good lesson in truth and trust. He was preparing the disciples for a great life-lesson through that storm. Peter had little faith when his focus became skewed and he paid attention to something other than the truth that He had been looking at in Matthew 14:24-33. As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he had faith to walk on water. But when he took his eyes off of the Truth (Jesus) and focused on his circumstances, he began to sink. See how quickly our faith can become little?

Sometimes, faith becomes little when we are sidetracked and fail to stay on the course that we were planted on. 2 Timothy 3:14 tells us, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and found to be true, because you know from whom you learned it.” In Matthew 16:5-12. Despite the feeding of thousands, the disciples failed to remember Christ’s past provision in their current situations.

Spiritually laziness happens when believer’s stop attending fellowship with other believers, stop studying their Bibles, their prayer life changes, other things take priority over their spiritual walk. Before they realize it, the enemy has baited them and they have taken the bite, hook line and sinker. They become unconcerned in making Christ Lord and priority any longer and the shift begins. If they are genuine believers, their spiritual conscience will grieve and they will take on depression, doubt and little faith. In each case, the wrong mindset resulted in a lack of confidence in Christ.

Little faith begins not with circumstances but with our thinking and focus. Therefore, if we want to increase our faith in God, we must fill our minds with the truth of Scripture, remember our Father’s faithfulness to us in the past, and look for His hand working in our present situation. When our minds are renewed, our faith will be also.

Hold Fast,

-Bren

LITTLE FAITH

 There is hope! A real faith is never lost, it simply becomes “little”.  In real life, every time we face unfortunate events such as setbacks, illnesses, loss and misfortune, we can sub come to doubting and thinking that God has forsaken us and we no longer feel His presence as we once did. It is then that we sink into negative thinking that leads us away from the truth we once knew and begin to lose faith in God. You see our enemy is watching us like a mad animal waiting for the right opportunity to bite. He is relentless in his coming after us to break us down so that we are no longer harvesting the power that is given to us by our Heavenly Father to battle him in our thoughts and actions.

When we first come to know the Lord, we quickly find that He is forever the embodiment of grace, blessings, compassion, and mercy. And because of this, after we receive Him as Lord and Savior, we expend ourselves with great enthusiasm, and are willing to follow Him the rest of our lives with no thought of temptation, trials or  future disciplines that he may bring. Then, there comes a day when God seems to turn His face away from us and baptizes us in discipline, frustrations, diseases, loss and trials. At such time, if we are not properly grounded and clothed with the right armament, our faith in Him can suddenly turn cold, and we become full of misunderstandings feeling betrayed and harbor blame towards Him. When this happens we become weak in faith to the point of being unable to get ourselves back on the spiritual track that we jumped off of ourselves. The process is so subtle, progressing in such small increments, that we can fail to recognize that there is even a problem and before we know it, our lives are reflecting the words in 1 Corinthians 10:12, "If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!"  One day all is well and the next we are searching for answers as to why we feel the way we do.

Job, the Bible’s role model for enduring life’s hardship’s, did not only display his trials and struggles. Before his loss, Job recalled many times when God showered him with favor and blessings. But then, out of nowhere, came life’s trials, hard and quick. His beloved children were killed, he was robbed of his livestock, and all his possessions were lost, and to add to his agony, his body became covered with boils and his wife’s lack of faith encouraged him to renounce God, die and end his misery. She thought that he shouldn’t suffer misfortune and asked him to abandon God altogether. Even his friends said that he most likely had offended God and by doing so, brought on his own calamity and was therefore abandoned. Yet deep in his heart, Job did not think like that, nor did he blame God; rather, he said this very rational thing: “shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” Job 2:10. Job knew, that no matter whether he was given blessings or misfortune, it was all God’s design and arrangement and he should unconditionally accept it. Which we know, that is what he did. Sweet friend you are accepted in the beloved not because of what you can do for God but simply by what God has done for you.

As children of God, we are entitled to victory through our faith in Him, not of ourselves but through Christ alone, God gives us the power to change every situation that doesn’t align with His holy will for us. Join me next week as I share with you how to gain back the ground that you may feel that you’ve lost.

 

Hold Fast,

-Bren

LIFE AND DEATH OR DEATH AND LIFE

Recently Charles and I purchased two burial plots in a beautiful little country cemetery. The place that would house our decaying fleshly bodies until our return with Christ to meet Him in the air and finally receive our longed-for and new glorified ones. It was a joy, to see the spot where my family would say their last goodbye’s and ponder upon past memories that we had shared together. Death no longer has a sting for me, but only a longing for that better place that my heart longs to be. I have not always felt this way though. There were times that I dared not even think of death, for the fear that it held in my heart. Fear of the unknown, the unexpected and the unsure. Many people today are like I once was. They fear death and as the result, they do not like to talk about it. They want to ignore it. Rather than face death, they try to mask it. Even funeral directors try to mask death in flowery scenes and by making the deceased look as alive and serene as they possibly are able to.

People are afraid of death because they do not know what lies ahead for them on the other side. It was this fear that prevented Hamlet from committing suicide after he pondered, “To be, or not to be? That is the question.” When pondering what may lie on the other side of death, some like to think that when they die they will be annihilated and become extinct, hoping to be no better or no worse than a dead animal on the roadside. Others like to think, that when they die they will be reincarnated, in which case, they will face the prospect of returning to this world as a fly only to be swatted or an ant to be smashed, which holds out little more comfort than being annihilated.

However, within the heart of mankind is the natural fear that when they die they must face God’s judgment whatever it may be and that is a frightening thought! Some try to deny the existence of hell to escape the fear of their being condemned to it. Many, on the other hand, hope they will go to heaven, but they know their hope is only wishful thinking. These uncertainties plague them as they see their lives slipping away, thus their perspective of death is one of uncertainty, fear and gloom after they die. They desperately know there is nothing they can do to prevent it except to cheat death by living as long as they can.

But for those who put their trust and faith in Christ, we have a different perspective; a perspective that gives hope and a strong confidence. Most people speak of  life and death in this order; life and then death. But for the true believer who understand their relationship with God through Christ, we should speak about it as God’s Word does in Colossians 3. It states: “For you died, and your life has been hidden with Christ in God”. This verse puts them in the opposite order. It speaks of death and life rather than life and death. This gives us a different perspective of death that holds out hope. First there is death: then there is life. For you see apart from death, there can be no life. God is telling us that, “You died, remember!” It is telling us that our death has already occurred, over and done with. It’s in our past once we become born again. As far as God is concerned our death and burial have already taken place in connection with Christ’s death and burial. Through our baptism into Christ we reveal to the world that we have died and were buried with him. Our old sinful self with its evil deeds and desires, died and was buried with Christ through His death and resurrection. For the child of God, to live is Christ to die is our gain! Philippians 1:21 Where do you stand today sweet friend? What plans are you making for your life? 

Hold Fast,

-Bren

WHAT KIND OF MAN

I am thankful today that God does not give me what I actually deserve, but shows me grace and mercy in spite of my sinful nature according to Psalm 103:10 and if not careful, I can succumb to that nature at any given time. His word tell us in Ps. 103:14 that, He does not deal with us according to our sins in the way that we deserved but, He knows our frame and remembers that we are but dust. A song comes to mind that makes me think about how loving God really is.  The song is basically a story about how God through the life and death of His only Son, showed mercy and love to three men in the New Testament. The song begins with a man named Barabbas who says, “I am Barabbas, a rebel, a prisoner, death was the sentence for me. Led before Pilot, I stood there beside Him, this man some were calling a King. And as the crowd shouted, “crucify Him”, the soldiers let me go free! What kind of man, guilty of nothing would suffer the shame and disgrace. Hang on the cross, despised and rejected and willing to die in my place; at Calvary, for someone like me?” Then Thomas spoke; “My name is Thomas, for 3 years I followed, I saw every wonder and sign. They say He is risen, that His grave is empty, but I just can’t believe He’s alive. Now standing before me, Jesus showed me the scars on His hands and His side. What Kind of man, embraces a doubter, lovingly drawing me near? I don’t have to wonder if I’ve been excepted, He settled the worry and fear, at Calvary, for someone like me!” Peter states; “My name is Peter, I knew Him and loved Him, but oh how I failed Him that night! I promised Jesus that I’d never leave Him, I’d willing lay down my life. But, there at His trial, I stood by the fire, and denied Him 3 times! What kind of man pours out His mercy on someone who stumbles and falls. There’s no way to earn it, no way to deserve it. Forgiveness still came after all. At Calvary, for someone like me!”

I’ve been Barabbas, was guilty yet, set free, and I’ve been Thomas a doubter redeemed, and I have been Peter who in shame have denied Him. Yes, I’ve been all three! What kind of man, bleeds for the worthless and saves him whatever it takes? What kind of man will rescue the sinner and offer such amazing grace? I tell you Jesus, the One and Only Son of the Most High! He died once, for all, according to Romans 6:10. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Romans 10:9 says this, “If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Today sweet friend, if you have never made the decision to receive Jesus into your heart, ask Him now! Are you like one of these men? Have you believed with your head, but not yet in your heart. God has made salvation very simple to understand. The only thing that is left for each of us to do, is to make that personal decision to accept what He says that we must do. If, today you have ask Christ in to your life, then make sure that you are a part of a Bible believing church and follow Christ in believer’s baptism. By your baptism, you are showing others that you are not ashamed and that you have committed to die of that old sinful nature and live for Jesus in the newness that He will now work out in your life. God loves you today sweet friend and so do I!

 

Hold Fast,

-Bren

ENJOY THE JOURNEY

Have you ever noticed that there are two types of people who are on a journey. They are the “journey” types and the “destination” types. The “journey” types of people enjoy the planning of the trip. They enjoy the driving, and they enjoy taking in the sites and all the side trips. They are enjoying the journey while on their way to their destination. The “destination” types do not enjoy the journey. They are all about getting to their destination. They are in a hurry to get to their destination and they want nothing to interrupt their trip.   Sometimes being a destination person is a necessity, like needing to get to a hospital in an emergency. But if you rushed all the time you will miss some very important things along the way. Now in some ways, it’s not a bad thing to be a destination type, because at least you have a destination. Without a clear destination, a journey lacks focus and any way to measure progress forward, because you don’t know what the way forward is.

The Bible pictures the Christian life of following Jesus Christ as being like a journey. In fact, when you think about it, we are all on a journey, whether you are a person who takes their time to enjoy the ride or a person who just wants to get there. The fact is we are all on this journey, called life. As Christians our journey is a bit different, we have been called to follow Jesus. Our journey did not end at our salvation and baptism. These points of our lives weren’t an ending destination they were the beginning. We are called to listen for the voice of God and to follow. It is not easy work, but what a journey it can be, if we just took the time to stop and listen, so we don’t miss anything!

That’s why it is important to enjoy the journey, not just the destination. In this world, we will never arrive at a place where everything is perfect and we have no more challenges and John 16:33 confirms this, “In the world ye shall have tribulation”. As admirable as setting goals and reaching them may be, you can’t get so focused on accomplishing the goals that you make the mistake of not enjoying where you are right now. For where you are right now may very well be a place where God is wanting to stretch and grow you closer to Him through situations and yes, even difficult times of trouble.

Phil. 4:6 tells us “not to be anxious about anything”, yet we do. We’re anxious to grow up, graduate from school, get that next job, get married, start a family, for our children to grow up and then, move on to the next season of our lives. God however, wants us to slow down and consider the things that are passing us by. He tells us in Ps. 46:10 to “be still and know that I am God”. He wants us to enjoy where we are as well as our looking forward to that blessed hope and final destination.

So the next time that you are tempted to become bored and frustrated in your journey, recall the times your children pleaded with you to make their trip go faster than you were able to. Few things are more difficult than driving a long distance with small children. You pack the car, it’s a hot day, and you dread the long journey ahead. You instinctively know the kids will be restless. No matter how many activity books, games and DVDs you bring, you still hear the steady complaint of, “Are we there yet?” and recall how you may have answered them.  Was it with an irritated or threatening response? No matter how you respond, on long trips, kids seem focused on the final destination, that is just what they do, it’s their human nature which must be trained.

Like our children we often get focused on the destination and forget to pay attention to the journey we are on as well. No matter what God provides for us and does for us on the trip we still seem to be focused on the destination. However, those who embrace their journey and find ways to enjoy them are allowing themselves to be trained by them and will find that their journey was just as important as their destination.

 

Hold Fast,

-Bren